


Wondrous Words

by nazgularepeopletoo, No_Day_But_Today



Series: Single Parent AUs [12]
Category: Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 - Malloy
Genre: Abandonment, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Mentions of alcohol, Natasha Has Anatole's Baby, Pierre Loves Natasha A Lot, Single Parent AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 07:15:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14869163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nazgularepeopletoo/pseuds/nazgularepeopletoo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/No_Day_But_Today/pseuds/No_Day_But_Today
Summary: Prompt: We are friends and my child’s first word was your name and I'm jealous but also kind of endeared.--------------------------------------------------------Natasha had come to him only a year ago, begging for help. There was no way that he would say no, especially after what he had said to her when everything was still going wrong. He was alone, rattling around in his big home and he could really use the company. It wasn’t like he had had such a great reputation before all this.





	Wondrous Words

Pierre loved spending time with Natasha and her son, despite the social consequences. The poor girl had been abandoned, only her cousin, Sonya, still spoke to her. She was ruined, they had no use for her now that she was stain on the family’s honor. He had taken her in after they had kicked her out. They had tolerated her at first, thinking they could quell the rumors, until she found out she was pregnant. Then they completely disowned her. It hurt him. She was just a child; a child manipulated by that son of a bitch Anatole. 

Anatole. His brother in law. That bastard. He didn’t care for anyone but himself, him and his wants. The minute his scheme had been revealed he ran off, taking his sister with him. Thank goodness for that. He wanted nothing to do with that witch, especially after what she did to push Natasha and Anatole together. It was their fault that this poor girl’s life was ruined, that her family had thrown her away like garbage.

Natasha had come to him only a year ago, begging for help. There was no way that he would say no, especially after what he had said to her when everything was still going wrong. He was alone, rattling around in his big home and he could really use the company. It wasn’t like he had had such a great reputation before all this.

So he had let her in, and they had fallen into a kind of routine. Most of the time they existed in the same spaces without interacting too much, which was good for both of them. Pierre had his studies and Natasha had her baby. There were times, of course, when that broke, and they laughed and talked long into the night. Pierre loved those days. He wasn’t going to push Natasha, but he wished those would happen more often. He understood the inability to trust anyone, especially men, but he found himself wishing more and more. 

One night Natasha had a breakdown. She shoved the baby at Pierre and bolted out of the house, sobbing. He clutched the baby tight to his chest, trailing after her to stand in the doorway. She had been prone to fits before, he knew, but this was the first time he had seen it so bad. The only thing to do as far as he knew was to let it run its course and let her find her way back home, but he was anxious. He looked down at the baby, bouncing him softly.

“Well Alexei, it looks like it’s just you and me for now.” He wasn’t quite sure what to do with a baby, so he improvised. 

When Natasha came home a few hours later, she found them both sound asleep in the drawing room, Alexei cuddled up on Pierre’s chest. It warmed Natasha’s heart to see her little one so comfortable with Pierre, she had worried, vaguely, that he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep without her there. Though, however cute they might be, she couldn’t let them sleep on the couch. Alexei might fall and sleeping all crunched up would not do any favors for Pierre’s back. 

She gently scooped Alexei up, careful not to wake him, before taking him back to his nursery. Pierre was kind enough to give her an entire room to use as a nursery, even going as far as to let her decorate it as she pleased. She set Alexei down, kissing the top of his head. She stayed for a moment, watching him settle back down. 

She returned to the drawing room, trying to figure out what to do with Pierre. He wasn’t as easy to move as the baby, it’s not like she could just scoop him up and carry him to his room. Though she didn’t want to leave him there all night either, he had enough back pain without sleeping on a sofa. She eventually decided that waking him would be the best answer, as moving him or leaving him there overnight were not options. She gently shook him awake.

“Pierre… Pierre… You’ve got to wake up, you can’t spend all night on the sofa…” Pierre wok with a start, grasping around for Alexei.

“Wuh… Alexei, where did -”

“Shhh, it’s alright. I moved him to his room. But you can’t stay here all night, you’ll hurt your back.” Pierre pulled himself upright into a seated position, joints cracking as he went.

“Oh. Thank you, my dear. I didn’t even realize that we had fallen asleep…” Natasha smiled, offering her hand to help him stand.

“Here, let me help you up so you can go get some rest.” Pierre took her hands, grateful for the assistance.

“Thank you, my dear. Unfortunately, at my age, moving becomes much harder than one would like.” Natasha helped him to his room, leaving him at the door. Though Pierre most likely wouldn’t protest to her helping him to the bed, she still didn’t feel comfortable with it. The last time she was alone with a man, her life fell apart at the seams. With a smile and soft goodbyes, they parted ways for the night, both feeling incredibly self-conscious.

* * *

 

In the weeks that passed, their occasional days together grew increasingly common. Pierre would be in his study when suddenly Natasha would be there with little Alexei - the latter demanding his attention. Or he would be absorbed in some letter, only to snap out of his thoughts when Natasha would sit down next to him on the sofa. He found himself spending more and more evening by her side as well, telling stories and jokes together over tea or wine. It was strange to him, he had never spent this much time alone with someone before. Not even his wife! Well, especially not his wife. Not that Pierre would complain, he found her company enjoyable, and looked forward to seeing her every day.

Natasha felt the same. She found herself seeking out his company unconsciously, wandering the house until she found where he was. She sought out his opinions on whatever gossip or news he brought home, happy when he would laugh about something or other. He had never looked as happy as he did when they spent nights talking over tea. She herself felt happier since they began spending more time together - happier than she had felt in a long time. Long before the incident, or incidents, and the man she tried so desperately to forget. Even Alexei seemed happier to have someone to play with.

It was one of those days, where they spent the day talking and playing games in the drawing room, when Alexei showed his affection for Pierre. They had played chess - well, tried to play chess, Natasha was still learning - for several hours before deciding to make lunch. They had all moved to the kitchen, Natasha balancing Alexei on her hip while stirring the soup they had decided to make while Pierre prepared a salad. They were laughing over one of Pierre’s stories of his youthful shenanigans, when Alexei said his first word. 

“Pear!” They both stopped, going completely silent. Their eyes met, both doubting what they had hear. Natasha broke the silence after a moment, looking down towards her son.

“What was that?” Alexei reached out toward Pierre.

“Pear!” Pierre gasped.

“Is that his first word?” Natasha nodded, too shocked to speak. Alexei reached out again, trying to wiggle out of Natasha’s grasp.

“Pear! Pear Pear Pear!” Pierre reached out, taking ahold of Alexei before he fell.

“What do you mean, little one? Do you want something to eat? A pear?” Alexei smiled, grabbing onto Pierre’s face.

“Pear!” Finally it clicked. Alexei was saying  _ his name _ . He looked toward Natasha.

“He said my name…” Natasha nodded, smiling while reaching out to tickle Alexei’s tummy, making the little boy laugh.

“Little Alexei must love his Uncle Pear a lot.” Pierre started to laugh.

“Now don’t you go calling me Pear too or else it might stick, and I don’t want to have to try and explain that to anyone else!” Natasha laughed as well, imagining a scenario where an adult might call Pierre ‘Pear’.

* * *

 

That night, Pierre was playing with Alexei on the floor, lifting him up into the air, swinging the boy around until he was shrieking with laughter. Natasha smiled. While she was a little jealous that Alexei’s first word wasn’t ‘mama’ or ‘tasha’, the two boys were too cute together for her to remain upset for too long. Pierre had seemed to grow 10 years younger after Alexei’s first word, thrilled that the little boy loved him. He had barely put the little one down since lunch. 

Natasha felt happy tears well up in her eyes. She had worried so much after discovering she was pregnant. She worried that she would have nowhere to go, that her child would be born into poverty, that she would have to struggle to provide for him, that she would have to raise him on her own, that her son would grow up without a father. However, Pierre had come and fixed everything for her. He’d given her a roof over her head, a warm bed, a safe place for her son to grow, and possibly even given her son a father. She would never be able to thank him enough for what he had done for her.


End file.
